Dan Mitchell drops some fascinating facts about healthcare in the U.S. in this article published by the Foundation for Economic Education.
Any notion that the “free market” is somehow to blame for high prices and any other ills are laid bare as ignorant, childish ravings of people completely detached from reality. Also note: this is not just a result of Obamacare, these facts are emblematic to trends that long pre-date the ACA; Obamacare just intensified the problems.
Consider the following:
- Consumers now only pay 10.5 percent of medical expenses directly. The rest is paid by “third party” payers, including Medicaid, Medicare and insurance. Of course, government regulations mandate what “private” insurers must cover. Separating the consumer from the cost is the primary factor driving healthcare costs thru the roof.
- The number of healthcare administrators grew by 3,200 percent from 1975 to 2010. Yes, 3,200 percent. Compare that to 150 percent growth of physicians during that time, a rate that largely tracked population growth in general
- “the growing number of administrators is…driven by…ever-more-complex regulations”
Combine all these factors with supply-side restrictions like expensive medical licensing, CON laws, and scope of practice limitations, and you have a government-orchestrated disaster.
